Gentleman Jack

Connecting the modern Gentlemen with the power of Jack.

Just like Jack Daniel’s Old No.7, its lesser known brother, Gentleman Jack is charcoal mellowed before the barrel, but also receives an extra ‘blessing’ when charcoal mellowed again after reaching maturity, to create a silky-smooth finish.

The Challenge

Just like Jack Daniel’s Old No 7, Gentleman Jack is charcoal mellowed before the barrel, but also receives an extra ‘blessing’ when charcoal mellowed again after reaching maturity, to create a silky smooth finish.

Our brief was to drive awareness and sales with 25-34-year-old Jack Daniel’s drinkers looking to trade up, but Gentleman Jack just wasn’t on their radar. They didn’t understand what made the brand special and it didn’t seem relevant to them. We needed to do something to get it noticed.

How we listened

We started by reviewing and analysing existing consumer research, then had direct conversations with our audience. This revealed a clear trend within our key group. There was a sense of transition and growing appreciation for fine things that we defined as ‘fledgling connoisseurship’. We identified an opportunity for the brand to play the role of 'trusted friend on the journey'.

Research into wider societal trends showed that traditional male rights of passage an 'life education' had changed and the moments of guidance and reassurance that a young gentleman of yesterday could depend on were no longer available.

How we talked

We established ‘The Order of Gentleman’ to help our consumers on their journey.

The key challenge was to select the right ‘Chairmen’. The figureheads of our order must not only share our values but also bring them to life in their work and lives.

Recruiting a carefully selected group of key influencers who were all experts in their field, we shared their knowledge and craft with our consumers.

Each one was a successful young entrepreneur who had achieved success in their own unique way. They had skills or knowledge in key areas of interest for our demographic: from a bar owner mixologist to a top meat chef – all shared their knowledge and the secrets of their craft with members of the order. By focussing on the importance of craft we helped underpin the premium positioning of Gentleman Jack.

The order was brought to life on social and CRM with support from quarterly Shortlist magazine advertorials to provide additional reach. We generated a mixture of content types, designed to be both personally valuable to consumers and highly shareable. We also developed a strong visual identity for the campaign which would resonate with the audience and generate stand out.

Results

Consumer feedback demonstrated that we’d done an outstanding job of inspiring our audience and thanks to The Order, Gentleman Jack enjoyed its best Christmas trading period ever with a massive 19.4% YOY growth.

With no additional marketing support, our socially driven ‘Order of Gentleman’ campaign has not only significantly increased brand awareness (up 7% vs 4% target), but has also created a strong ongoing relationship between consumers and the Gentleman Jack brand.